What We Did - Weeks 31 & 32

Day 226 - Thur.

Bathroom renovation in full swing.  This was what our master looked like.

Day 227 - Fri.
Mark had a playdate at the water park in Trophy Club.  He had so much fun.  When he walked through the gate, his eyes got really wide and he just started to run from one thing to the next!  He didn't know where to start.

Day 228 - Sat.
I had to go and pick up s couple of mirrors that I put on hold at Kirkland's in Ft. Worth. I took Matthew and Michael because they had an art class right after.  They were actually pretty well-behaved and Michael was very helpful.

Then it was off to art class at Texas U Can Paint.  I got bought a Groupon for two 2-hour sessions for the boys and thought they would have fun painting together.  I think they did, but not as much fun as I had imagined in my head.  They did so well,  I love that even though they were painting the same thing, there paintings came out differently.

These boys make my heart happy!

Day 229 - Sun.
I went and picked up the boys' wedding attire today and had Mark try on his suit.  Oh my word, how stinkin' cute is he.  He was so, sos excited that he is wearing a tie like Daddy.  "See? I have a tie just like Daddy."  I told him that I'm going to squeeze him so hard that his head is going to pop off.  He informed me that it was impossible because his head is attached. Love him!

Day 230 - Mon.
Looks like Mark picked up a little cold from somewhere or someone.  He was not feeling great today so we cuddled a lot.

Day 231 - Tues.

No Picture.  I had a quick meeting with my spirit shop ladies and M took Mark to the Gs for a little bit.  He still has his cold, but was feeling much better.

Day 232 - Wed.

We thought things were moving right along.  The bathroom pretty much still looks like this a week later. Very slow going.

Day 233  - Thur.
We went to Dove Water Park in Grapevine.  All three boys had a blast.  The big boys went on the big watersides and pool and the little boy had fun in the toddler area which was shaded. Love this park.

These boys actually enjoyed the pizza they had for lunch there.

Mark played with some big boys.  They had goggles on so he wore his too.

Day 234 - Fri.
Matthew had Meet the Teacher this morning and I had to be at the school super early to set up the Spirit Shop. We stopped by Starbucks for a little pick-me-up.

Day 235 - Sat.
Michael had a couple of scrimmages so we all went to see him play in McKinney.  It was very hot, but we were comfortable under out tent.

Day 236 - Sun.
No picture today.  We were busy preparing for the first day of school!

Day 237 - Mon.
First day of school.  I can't believe another summer is in the books. Love these boys, but I'm glad we will be back on a schedule and I get a break from their bickering for most of the day!

Day 238 - Tue.
Matthew wanted Michael to walk him to the bus stop because they had to "talk."

Day 239 - Wed.
Matthew has half days for the whole first week of school.  We had to go pick up some paint samples and decided to pick up some lunch.

Happy Tuesday

I'm happy to report that the boys had a great first day of school.  Matthew went to school very nervous and came home very excited about his new teacher.  He declared that she was so nice and that Michael was a liar.

Michael also came home very happy with his teachers and his classes. And he did not have any trouble finding his way around. He was hoping for an upper locker this year but was thwarted because of his height.  Apparently, the kiddos have to line up by height and the taller kids get the upper lockers.  Michael said he was the second shortest kid in 6th grade.  I'm not sure I buy that, but he certainly did not make the upper locker cut.  Poor guy.

Matthew also had his reading assessment yesterday.  His teacher said he did great.  I had no doubt that he would do well.

This went on while we waited for Matthew to finish up with his testing.  Mark jumped around from chair to chair playing "the monkey game."  He would jump off the chair and pretended that he fell and bumped his head. Silly boy. If he were my first child, I would have freaked out about the whole rolling around the school carpet thing. But he's not so I let him be.

On the bathroom renovation front, we currently have one working shower and one working sink. We are hoping for more after today.  I'm also hoping that everything goes smoothly.

We had a little bit of a panic yesterday when water started leaking from the upstairs guest bath down into my kitchen.  It was a horrible feeling.  Contractor guys says that it's been fixed and the leak has stopped so my fingers are crossed hoping that he's 100% right. These are the times when I wish M doesn't have to be away so much.

We have granite! Apparently, this bathroom had striped wallpaper and was turquoise in its past life.

The boys' bathroom was demo'ed yesterday.  Buh-bye, ugly white and navy tiles!

This morning, Matthew wanted Michael to walk him to the bus stop so they can "talk." About what, he wouldn't tell me.  These are the moments that I hope they have more of.

First Day of School

The day is here!! First day of school.  I'm so happy that the boys still let me take pictures of them with the signs. They were both a little nervous about the first day.

Matthew was nervous about his new class and his new teacher.  Apparently, Michael told him that his new teacher is "the meanest 4th grade teacher." I told him that she seems nice on Meet the Teacher.  He said "Every teacher acts nice at Meet the Teacher." Haha.

I tried to reassure him as best as I could.  I told him that I know his teacher more than Michael did because I was around here a lot more than Michael was. I'm hoping for a good year!

Michael was nervous about not knowing where to go on the first day.  This morning, we reviewed his schedule and went over his classroom map period by period. He seemed to feel better. I'm praying that their day goes smoothly!!!

Mark wanted to join the first day fun!

First day of school last year

Waiting for Matthew's bus.

I love these boys SO much!

What We Did - Week 30

Day 219 - Thur.

We had to run over to the mall and exchange some shoes.  Of course, we had to stop by the play area.  

Day 220 - Fri.

There was a lightning delay at Michael's 1st soccer game of the tournament. The boys were waiting it out in the truck.  

Day 221 - Sat.
Matthew, Mark and I went to breakfast while M and Michael were at the first soccer game of the day. We met up with them later for the 2nd game.

Day 222 - Sun.
Tournament Champs!  They played 2 awesome games today and only gave up 1 goal during the whole tournament. Go Solar!

Day 223 - Mon.
We stayed home all day because people were here ripping out our bathrooms.  We had to turn the air conditioner off so the dust wouldn't spread throughout our house.  It was a hot day so Mark was in his diaper all day.

Day 224 - Tues.
Today was a repeat of Monday and I took 0 pictures.

Day 225 - Wed.
These boys love popcorn!

Come On In to Our Playroom

I'm participating in the "Come On In" link-up this week at Momfessionals to share the room where my kiddos probably spend most of their time - the two older ones anyway. The playroom!  I love having a room dedicated to messy toys and video games so I don't have to see it in my living room.  And if it gets a little messy sometimes, it's OK because I don't see it if I don't go up there.

Come on in! Our playroom is actually a loft-style room so this is what you see when you walk up our backs stairs.  

I know.  It's totally a mish-mash of different furniture from the 2 previous homes we've owned and nothing really matches or coordinates with each other - leather couches from a home theater, drafting table being used as a computer desk.  But my kids are rough on things so this mismatched furniture will do for now.

This piece below from IKEA is my favorite.  Lots of shelves and basket that I can throw things in.  It hides all the legos, train sets, action figures, hot wheels, etc.  

This behemoth holds all the DVDs, videos games, video game consoles and all the stuff that comes with it.

And there you have it.  Our room is more about functionality at this point.  I don't have any inspiring artwork and not many decorations so I'm looking forward to seeing how others have decorated their playrooms to get some ideas!

Another Weekend, Another Soccer Tournament

This weekend was all about soccer.  Michael had a tournament in McKinney and it was hot, hot, hot.  He had his first game in Lewisville, but the other 4 games were all in McKinney.  I guess I should be use to the drive by now, right?  

The boys did so well!  They all played so hard even in the heat.  One of our boys actually had to be taken to the hospital in an ambulance from heat exhaustion.  He'll be alright, but it was a little bit of a scare and it definitely added a little drama to the game.

Michael has gotten so much more aggressive and isn't afraid to go for the ball anymore.  I couldn't be more proud of my little man! 

They won all 5 games and only gave up 1 goal.  They had over 20 goals.  Michael had more than a couple of good shots, but missed all of them.  Oh well. Next weekend will be another soccer weekend as we head over back to McKinney for some scrimmages and a get-together with the other Solar teams.

We had to wait out the lightning siren Friday night.  The boys hung out in the back of the truck until the adults realized it was probably better for them to wait it out under some shade because it was still so hot - even with the pop-up storm

The 2nd game started really early Saturday morning - M and Michael were out the door at 6:15 so I decided to stay and let the other 2 kiddos sleep in.  We went to breakfast at McDonalds and then went over to the high school to buy our school supplies.

The Championship team! We are missing Cason because he had to go to the hospital for heat exhaustion.  Poor little guy.

What We Did - Week 29

Day 212 - Thur.
Making himself a snack of Greek yogurt with berries and granola. He loves this stuff!

Then we went outside to play with some chalk.

Day 213 - Fri.
Friday selfie!

Day 214 - Sat.
We spent our morning playing with some blocks. He's very bossy about it.  He wants me to sit and play with him, but when I start building, he'll tell me that he needs to blocks that I'm playing with and  say things like, "No, that doesn't belong there" and "No , don't use that color, use light blue."

Day 215 - Sun.
We took the boys to see Guardian of the Galaxy! This was Mark's first time in a movie theater.

Day 216 - Mon.
Outside time with the water table.

Day 217 - Tue.
Getting comfortable, watching Caillou and snacking on blueberries.  I snapped this right after he told me, "No pictures right now."

Day 218 - Wed.
I found this letter that Michael wrote to himself last year while cleaning out my desk area.  So much fun to read. I didn't keep the note, but took a picture of it - something that I will be doing with my kiddos stuff instead of keeping everything.